Apparatus for Climbing a Rope

ABSTRACT

The invention provides an ascender or other rope-gripping device which is separated form its handle by a connection of length such that when, in use, the ascender is attached to a single rope suspended from above with a second, handled ascender below it. The second ascender can be lifted up along the rope to a position where its associated handle is above the handle of the first ascender.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for climbing a rope, inparticular a single rope suspended from above.

Systems for climbing a single rope most commonly utilise a pair ofrope-gripping devices known as “ascenders”. An ascender is a devicewhich, threaded onto or otherwise engaged with a rope, can be movedalong the rope in one direction with little resistance. When a force isapplied to the ascender in the opposite direction a mechanism grips andjams against to the rope, preventing it from moving along the rope inthe direction of the applied force. This mechanism is usually a jammingcleat with ribs or teeth on its surface presented to the rope.

Other rope-gripping devices are known as auto-locking or auto-brakingbelay devices. These latter devices are primarily used to abseil down arope but some can also be utilised to ascend it.

In normal use a pair of ascenders is engaged with a suspended rope andboth are orientated so that they grip and jam the rope when a downwardforce is applied to them. The jamming of the rope of a first ascender ofa pair enables it to support the climber's weight while the secondascender is moved upward along the rope to an elevated position. Theclimber's weight is then transferred to the second ascender, causing itto grip and jam the rope without moving downward along the rope andallowing the first ascender to in turn be moved upward along the rope toan elevated position.

In some known systems the upper ascender of a pair has a handle which isgrasped by one or both of the climber's hands while the lower ascenderis attached to one or both of the climber's feet. The alternatingmovements of the ascenders permitted by this arrangement result in a“sit stand” climbing action.

In another known system the ascenders have respective handles held byrespective hands of the climber, respective foot-stirrups depending fromeach of the handles. This latter system permits a walking action of theclimber's feet which leads to faster climbing. However a similar walkingaction of the climber's hands is not possible with the present forms ofhandled ascenders because the rope-gripping means of the two ascenderscannot pass one another along the rope. Consequently a chest harness isalso required to assist in holding the climber upright, particularlywhen the climber's weight is transferred to the foot suspended from thelower ascender and the upper ascender is being moved upwards along therope.

A principal object of the present invention is to improve upon apparatusof the latter kind, permitting faster and less strenuous climbing,improved posture, greater freedom of movement and faster engagement withand disengagement from both the climber and the rope.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a pair ofseparate, handled rope-gripping devices for use in climbing a singlerope suspended from above, characterised in that a first one of thedevices which is to be engaged to the rope above the other, seconddevice is separated from its handle by a rigid or semi-rigid connectionof sufficient length that, in use of the devices and without detachingeither device from the rope, the second device can be raised along therope to a position where its handle is above the handle of the firstdevice.

Preferably there is a direct connection between the second device andits handle.

Each of said devices is preferably an ascender, the ascenders beingsimilar except for the extended connection between the first ascenderand its handle.

Preferably a foot stirrup is suspended from each handle.

Preferably the length of said connection is not less than the reach ofan average adult human's arm.

The said connection may be provided by a rigid or semi-rigid rodattached at one end to the first-mentioned device and at its other endto the handle thereof.

Alternatively said connection may comprise a flexible, load bearingcomponent together with a less flexible component to provide thrust. Theflexible component may be a cord, strap or the like and the componentproviding thrust may be a rod. The rod may be made up of telescopicsections or alternatively of foldable sections.

Preferably the rod is joined to the first-mentioned device or to itsassociated handle in such a way that limited relative longitudinalmovement is permitted so that the cord, strap or the like can stretchwhen under load without the load becoming imposed on the rod. Thefirst-mentioned device or its associated handle may have a sleevethrough which the rod passes, the rod having a stop such that it can belifted by the sleeve.

An advantage of the embodiment of the previous two paragraphs is that acord, strap, length of webbing or the like can be employed capable ofbearing an extreme weight, whereas the rod need have relatively littlestrength and can therefore be of a light-weight construction, convenientfor transporting and handling.

Where the first-mentioned device is of a type which can be released fromand re-engaged with the rope by pulling a spring-loaded lever a cord,cable or the like may be provided alongside the said connection wherebythe climber can operate the lever from the vicinity of the associatedhandle.

The two devices may be linked by a strap, cord or the like which passesfreely through an aperture in a component intended for attachment(directly or via another component) to the belay loop of a climbingharness, means being provided whereby the ends of the said strap cannotpass through the said eyehole aperture. The aperture preferablyincorporates a pulley with the strap engaged around part of thecircumference of the pulley wheel to reduce friction.

Alternatively the two devices may be linked by a strap, cord of the likewhich passes through two fall-arresters, or a bi-directionalfall-arrester, connected to the belay loop of a climbing harness, thefall-arrester or arresters acting oppositely on the strap to preventmovement of the strap through the fall-arrester or arresters in eitherdirection at more than a permitted speed. This will ensure that if theclimber has detached one of the devices from the rope and allowshim/herself to fall outwardly from the rope as a result of releasing thehandle of the other device the extent of that fall will be minimised bythe bi-directional fall arrester or one or other of the twofall-arresters.

The two fall-arrest devices may be joined side-by-side and to a pulleyassembly, the strap passing through one of the fall-arrest devices,around the pulley and then through the other fall-arrest device.

Knots at the ends of the said strap attaching them to the respectivehandles or to karabiners clipped to the handles are preferablyReinforced Prince Borna cravat knots allowing easy adjustment of thelength of strap between the two handles as well as secure fixedattachments when load is applied to the strap.

Alternatively the ends of the strap pass through adjustment buckles orare stitched, spliced or otherwise formed into loops in which therespective handles or karabiners clipped to the handles are held.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there isprovided handled, rope-gripping device for inclusion in the pair thereofdefined in the fourteen preceding paragraphs, characterised in that thedevice is separated from its handle by a rigid or semi-rigid connectionof length approximately equal to the reach of an average adult human'sarm.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described by way ofnon-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2 a to 2 c are simplified illustrations of how the apparatus ofFIG. 1 is used:

FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate a third embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 5 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus illustrated comprisestwo ascenders 10 a and 10 b, each containing a rope jamming mechanism ofthe kind well known per se and each having an associated handle 11 a and11 b. Foot stirrups 13 a and 13 b are suspended from the handles 11 aand 11 b by webbing straps 12 a and 12 b ends of which pass throughlength adjustment buckles 15 a and 15 b which are attached to lockingkarabiners 14 a and 14 b via loops of webbing 19 a/20 a and 19 b/20 b.The locking karabiners 14 a and 14 b are respectively attached to theascender handles 11 a and 11 b. The lengths of the webbing straps 12 aand 12 b can be independently adjusted as required using adjustingbuckles 15 a and 15 b so as to give the most effective simultaneouswalking action of both hands and feet. Loops of elastic cord 16 a and 16b are attached to the stirrups and can be stretched over the climber'sfeet to prevent them coming out of the stirrups during use.

In order to prevent the climber from falling, two safety lines 18 a and18 b consisting of nylon webbing connect the two ascender handles 11 aand 11 b to the belay loop 25 of a waist harness worn by the climber.Thus the climber is attached to both ascending devices at all timesduring use, providing increased safety. Connection of the safety linesto the handles and belay loop is via respective locking karabiners 14 a,14 b and 17.

The lengths of the two safety lines 18 a and 18 b can be independentlyadjusted near the belay loop 25 by passing them through adjustingbuckles 22 a and 22 b, which are held captive in sewn nylon webbingloops 23 a and 23 b made from a single length of nylon webbing. Thelatter has a third sewn loop 24 at its mid point, through which thekarabiner 17 is attached, providing the personal protective attachmentpoint of the climber to the system. For optimum freedom of movement, thelengths of the safety lines 18 a and 18 b should be adjusted such thatthey allow the climber to raise the handles 11 a and 11 b as high abovehis head as his reach will allow while the karabiner 17 is attached tohis waist harness.

To eliminate the risk of the ends of the said safety lines passingthrough the adjustment buckles, both safety lines are comprised of onecontinuous length of webbing. Thus any excess length of webbingresulting from a shortening of the safety lines will form a bight ofwebbing 21, which can hang freely down behind the karabiner 17 and willtherefore not interfere with the movement of the climber.

As so far described the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is conventional.In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, however,the ascender 10 b is separated from the associated handle 11 b by arigid rod 26 the length of which is not less than the reach of anaverage adult human's arm, i.e. approximately 50 cm. The rod 26 isintegral with the ascender 10 b at one end and integral with the handle11 b at its other end and serves both as a strut for pushing ascender 10b upwards along the rope and as a tie for bearing the climber's weightwhen it is imposed on the handle 11 b.

The use of the apparatus of FIG. 1 is illustrated by FIGS. 2 a to 2 c.The apparatus is being used to climb a rope 28 which has been suspendedfrom above, for example by being allowed to dangle from the branch of atree. In order to show the climbing action more clearly the safety linesand their associated attachments and adjustment buckles and the footstirrup adjustment buckles have been omitted. The climber has engagedthe two ascenders 10 a and 10 b to the rope 28 with the ascender 10 babove ascender 10 a.

In FIG. 2 a the climber is momentarily at rest, standing up and placinghis weight on one fully extended leg with the foot of that leg supportedby the foot stirrup 13 a. His weight therefore exerts a downward forceon the ascender 10 a causing it to jam the rope 28. The climber is usinghis corresponding hand to hold himself upright by holding the handle 11a. At this moment the climber exerts negligible or no downward force onthe foot stirrup 13 b and has therefore been able to raise the ascender10 b along the rope 28 by using his other hand to raise the handle 11 bto the maximum height his reach will comfortably allow.

Consequently the climber's other foot, which is in the foot stirrup 13b, has also been raised by the same distance.

The climber now transfers his weight onto the foot supported by stirrup13 b and onto the handle 11 b by using his arm to pull downwards on itso that his weight exerts a downward force on the ascender 10 b causingit to jam the rope. At this moment the climber exerts negligible or nodownward force on the foot stirrup 13 a and is therefore able tocommence raising the ascender 10 a along the rope 28 by using hiscorresponding hand to raise the handle 11 a while simultaneouslystanding up on the foot stirrup 13 b and pulling down on the handle 11b.

FIG. 2 b illustrates an intermediate position. The climber is in theprocess of carrying out the upward movement which was at the point ofcommencement in FIG. 2 a. FIG. 2 b shows the moment in this movement atwhich the handle 11 a has reached the same vertical position as thehandle 11 b and therefore has already been raised above the maximumvertical position that would have been possible had the ascender 10 band handle 11 b been conventionally related. However because theascender 10 b is separated from the associated handle 11 b by theconnecting element 26 the climber is able to continue raising the handle11 a to the position illustrated in FIG. 2 c while the ascender 10 aremains below the ascender 10 b.

The climber's weight-bearing leg is now fully extended with its footstill being supported by the foot stirrup 13 b. The climber'scorresponding hand is also pulling on handle 11 b to hold himselfupright. The climber's other hand has now raised the handle 11 a to themaximum height his reach will comfortably allow. Consequently theclimber's other foot, which is in the foot stirrup 13 a, has also beenraised by the same distance. Being momentarily at rest once again theclimber is now able to transfer his weight onto the foot stirrup 13 aand the handle 11 a causing the ascender 10 a to jam the rope 28 andreleasing the grip of the ascender 10 b on the rope so that it can bemoved upward.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the invention. The upperascender and its handle have been given the same reference numerals astheir equivalents in FIGS. 1 and 2, but with a suffix ′. Thus theascender in FIG. 3 is denoted by 10 b′ and its associated handle by 11b′. The other components of the apparatus of this embodiment are similarto those of FIGS. 1 and 2 and are not shown in FIG. 3.

In the arrangement of FIG. 3 the connection between the ascender 10 b′and its handle 11 b′ comprises a length of webbing 29 which serves as aload-bearing tie. A second component of the connection between theascender 10 b′ and its handle 11 b′ is a telescopic pole assembly 30,the three sections 30 a, 30 b and 30 c of which contain lockingmechanisms which can lock the sections in their extended condition. Suchlocking mechanisms are conventional in telescopic walking poles and donot need further explanation. The telescopic pole assembly serves as astrut capable of pushing the ascender 10 b′ upwards along the rope whenthe handle 11 b′ is raised.

The benefit of this alternative embodiment is twofold: Firstly, byseparating that part of the connecting element which must be strongenough in tension safely to bear the climber's weight—in the order of ametric tonne—from that part of the connecting element which need only bestrong and rigid enough in compression to raise the ascender 10 b′ alongthe rope—in the order of a few kilograms—the heavy solid connectingelement 26 illustrated in FIG. 1 can be replaced by the somewhat lighterlength of webbing 29 and telescopic pole assembly 30. The otheradvantage of this embodiment is that the telescopic pole assembly 30 canbe unlocked and retracted to less than half of its extended lengthmaking the apparatus easier to store and carry.

The webbing 29 is attached to the ascender 10 b′ by passing one of itsends through a slot 31 in the body of the ascender and attaching it tothe webbing that is on the other side of the slot with stitching 32,thus securing the ascender in a closed loop of webbing.

The end of the telescopic pole with the smallest diameter 30 a is fixedinto a channel 35 on the body of the ascender 10 b′ orientated so thatwhen the ascender is attached to a rope the telescopic pole is alignedparallel with the rope.

The webbing 29 is attached to the handle 11 b′ by passing one of itsends through a slot 34 at the top of the body of the handle andattaching it to the webbing that is on the other side of the slot withstitching 33, thus securing the handle in a closed loop of webbing.

The end of the telescopic pole with the largest diameter 30 c passesthrough axially spaced apart sleeves 36 and 37 which have been formed bybending the side of the body of the handle 11 b′. The internal diameterof the sleeves is slightly larger than the external diameter of the polesection 30 c so as to allow for relative movement of the pole and handleduring use.

Sliding of the pole section 30 c in the sleeves 36 and 37 allows thewebbing 29 to stretch when bearing the climber's weight without thatweight becoming imposed on the pole 30. However a stop 38 is provided onthe pole section 30 c between the sleeves 36 and 37. When the handle 11b′ is lifted the stop 38 engages the sleeve 36 enabling the pole 30 toraise the ascender 10 b′.

Conventional rope-walking systems are not well suited to situations inwhich a suspended rope is deflected from a perfectly straight line by anobstruction and in these situations it is known that a ‘sit-stand’ typearrangement, as described earlier, is preferable. A climber can easilyswitch to such a system during climbing by engaging with the rope athird ascender attached to his harness and then disengaging ascender 10b from the rope.

However, as the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes twohandled ascenders in the region of the climbers head, the ascenders canbe disengaged and reengaged with the rope one at a time to literallystep over an obstruction. If the upper ascender is in accordance withthe present invention then the length of obstruction which can be passedis increased due to the increased reach of the ascender. Consequentlyhowever, the spring-loaded lever which must be operated to re-engage theascender with the rope above the obstruction may be beyond the climber'sreach. As a solution to this problem a cord, cable or the like (notshown) may be provided attached to the lever and passing alongside theconnection such as 26 to the region of the handle 11 b. Preferably thecord passes through a conduit or is wound helically around the rod 26 tokeep it within reach and to prevent fouling.

In a further modification to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 thetelescopic pole 30 is replaced by a flexible rod (not shown) which,although sufficiently rigid to raise the associated ascender along therope, would be capable of bending if it had to pass around anobstruction and the climber had then transferred his weight onto theassociated handle. As a further solution to the same problem the saidrod could be detachable from the handle so that the rod could remainstraight when the climber is suspended from the handle.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate a further embodiment of the invention inwhich the connection between the handles 11 a and 11 b of the twoascenders is replaced by a single strap, cord or the like 41. Each endof the strap 41 is tied either directly to one of the ascender handles11 a,11 b or to a respective karabiner (not shown) attached to anascender handle. The main length of the said strap or cord 41 is able topass freely through a captive eyehole 40 incorporated into a karabiner39 which is attached to the belay loop of the climber's harness (notshown).

In FIGS. 4 a and 4 b the link 41 between the ascender handles 11 a and11 b is a length of webbing strap, which passes through a captiveeyehole or ring 40 incorporated into a karabiner 39, the karabiner 39being intended to be attached to the belay loop of the climber'sharness.

Preferably, to reduce friction, the eyehole 40 incorporates a pulleywheel (not shown) around part of the circumference of which the strap 41runs.

Each end of the strap 41 is tied around a respective ascender handle 11a or 11 b with the well known ‘Reinforced Prince Borna’ cravat knot 42 aand 42 b. For simplicity only the ascender handles and not theirrespective ascenders are shown.

The free ends of the strap 41 are stitched into loops 43 a and 43 b,each of which holds captive a metal ring 44 a and 441) to which the footstirrups 12 a and 12 b are attached.

FIG. 4 a illustrates the position of the apparatus when both ascenderhandles 11 a and 11 b are at the same height (c.f. FIG. 2 b) and FIG. 4b illustrates the system when one ascender handle is raised above theother (c.f. FIG. 2 a or 2 c).

Thus when the climber is ascending by using a walking action of hishands holding the respective ascender handles 11 a and 11 b, the handle11 a which is being raised pulls more of the strap 41 through theeyehole 40, thus lengthening the section of strap 41 a between thekarabiner 39 and the handle 11 a, and shortening the section of strap 41b between the karabiner 39 and the other handle 11 b which is not beingraised. The changing lengths of strap sections 41 a and 41 b ensure thatthere is minimal slack in the strap 41 at any point in the climbingaction and therefore if the climber lets go of both of the ascenderhandles 11 a, 11 b then he would not fall any significant distancebefore the strap becomes tight and his weight is supported by bothascenders. The distance of fall in this case would be no more than a fewcentimetres due to the slack in the strap 41 plus any slack in theclimber's harness.

If, by way of deliberate misuse of the apparatus, the climber puts allof his weight on one of the ascenders and then detaches the otherascender from the rope and lets go of the handle of the first-mentionedascender, he would fall until a stopper (in this case the actualattachment knot 42 a or 42 b) at the end of the strap at the detachedhandle reaches the captive eyehole 40. The said stopper, being too largeto pass through the eyehole, would prevent any more of the strap 41 frompassing through the eyehole 40 and the climber would thus be preventedfrom falling further and his weight would be supported by thefirst-mentioned ascender which is still attached to the rope. Themaximum fall which could result from this misuse of the apparatus wouldbe approximately 1 metre or less.

A further measure to reduce the potential of falling by any significantdistance should the climber let go of both of the ascender handles 11 aand 11 b or misuse the apparatus as described above would be to attach athird ascending device to the climber's harness and engage this with theclimbing rope during the climb, although this would add more friction tothe apparatus. If the third ascending device were anauto-locking/auto-braking belay device then this would allow the climberto switch from ascending to descending the rope with greater ease.

In order to allow for the varying lengths of climbers' bodies and limbs,the apparatus can be adjusted as follows:

The knot at each end of the strap 41 attaching it to the ascenderhandles (in this case a well known cravat knot, the ‘Reinforced PrinceBorna’ 42 a and 42 b), functions like a strap passing through anadjustment buckle and doubled-back (as one might find on a climbingharness) in that it can easily be loosened to allow the strap to be fedthrough the knot in order to adjust the length of the strap between theascender handles 11 a and 11 b but will tighten and lock as soon as aforce (such as the weight of the climber) is applied to the said strap41.

Once the length of strap 41 between the ascender handles 11 a and 11 bis adjusted to suit the climber as described above the lengths of therespective foot stirrup straps 12 a and 12 b can be adjusted by movingadjustment buckles 45 a and 45 b sewn into the ends of the foot stirrupstraps along the same. The foot stirrup straps are doubled back throughmetal rings 44 a and 44 b and passed back through the said adjustmentbuckles. Similar methods of length adjustment are common in footstirrups currently available.

A modification of the embodiment of the invention of FIGS. 4 a and 4 bis illustrated in FIG. 5. Two fall-arresters 46 a and 46 b are connectedtogether side-by-side and to a pulley 47. The strap 41 passes throughone of the fall-arresters 46 a and 46 b, around the pulley 47 and thenthrough the other fall-arrester. As in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b the ends 41 aand 41 b of the strap are connected to the handles 11 a, 11 b of theascenders. The pulley assembly 47 is connected to the climber's harness25 by a karabiner 39.

Fall-arrest devices are well known in the art. One type allows freemovement of a rope or strap through it at low speeds but responds to ashock load by engaging a clutch to grip the rope or strap when acritical speed is reached The two fall-arrest devices 46 a and 46 b actoppositely on the strap 41 so that in whichever direction a shock loadis applied to the strap 41 one of the fall-arrest devices will arrestit. However if the strap 41 moves relatively slowly around the pulley 47neither of the fall-arrest devices 46 a and 46 b will arrest it. Withthe arrangement of FIGS. 4 a and 4 b if one of the ascenders 10 a or 10b is detached from the rope 28 and the climber lets go of the handle ofthe other ascender he/she will fall outwardly from the rope, rotating onthe foot stirrup of the ascender which is still gripping to the rope.This will cause the ring 40, in the embodiment of FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, totravel rapidly to one extremity or the other of the strap 41 before theclimber's fall is arrested. Using the arrangement of FIG. 5 if the strap41 attempts to move rapidly around the pulley 47 in either direction itwill be arrested by one or other of the fall-arresters 45 a,46 b so thatthe extent of the climber's fall is minimised.

It will be appreciated that the two, distinct fall-arresters 46 a and 46b could be replaced by a single, bi-directional fall arrester.

For the avoidance of doubt the words “comprises” or “comprising” used inthe appended claims are intended to mean both “consists of” and“includes”.

1-36. (canceled)
 37. For inclusion in apparatus for use in climbing asingle rope suspended from above, the apparatus comprising a pair ofmutually independent, hand operated ascenders of different lengths, eachcomprising rope gripping means situated in the ascender's upper part,the ascender's lower part being shaped for use as a handle, and a footstirrup suspended from a lower part of each ascender, a first ascenderthe rope-gripping means of which is separated from the handle thereofsufficiently that, in use of the apparatus, when the rope-gripping meansof the first ascender is positioned on the rope above the rope grippingmeans of the second ascender, the rope-gripping means of the secondascender can be raised along the rope to a position where its associatedhandle when bearing a downward force is above the handle of the firstascender.
 38. Apparatus as claimed in claim 37, wherein the handle ofthe first ascender is separated from the rope-gripping means thereof bya rigid or semi-rigid connection of length approximately equal to thereach of an average adult human's arm.
 39. Apparatus as claimed in claim38, wherein there is a direct connection between the rope-gripping meansof the second ascender and its handle.
 40. Apparatus as claimed in claim37, wherein said separation between the rope-gripping means and itshandle of the first ascender is provided by a rigid rod.
 41. Apparatusas claimed in claim 37, wherein said separation between therope-gripping means and its handle of the first ascender is provided bya flexible, load bearing component together with a less flexiblecomponent to provide thrust.
 42. Apparatus as claimed in claim 41,wherein the flexible component is a cord, strap or the like and thecomponent providing thrust is a rod.
 43. Apparatus as claimed in claim42, wherein the rod is made up of telescopic sections.
 44. Apparatus asclaimed in claim 42, wherein the rod is made up of foldable sections.45. Apparatus as claimed in claim 42, wherein the rod is joined to therope-gripping means of the first ascender or to its associated handle insuch a way that limited relative longitudinal movement is permitted sothat the cord, strap or the like can stretch when under load without theload becoming imposed on the rod.
 46. Apparatus as claimed in claim 45,wherein the handle of the first ascender has a sleeve through which therod passes, said rod having a stop to limit the relative movement of thesleeve and rod such that the rod can be lifted by the sleeve. 47.Apparatus as claimed in claim 45, wherein the rope gripping means of thefirst ascender has a sleeve through which the rod passes, said rodhaving a stop to limit the relative movement of the sleeve and rod suchthat the rod can lift the sleeve.
 48. Apparatus as claimed in claim 37,wherein the rope-gripping means of the first ascender is of a type whichcan be released from and re-engaged with the rope using a spring-loadedlever and wherein a cord, cable or the like is provided whereby theclimber can operate the lever.
 49. Apparatus as claimed in claim 37,wherein the two ascender assemblies are linked by a strap, cord or thelike which passes freely through an aperture in a component orcomponents intended for attachment to a climbing harness, means beingprovided whereby the ends of the said strap cannot pass through the saidaperture.
 50. Apparatus as claimed in claim 49 wherein the component orcomponents through which the strap, cord or the like linking the twoascender assemblies passes are two fall arresters or a bi-directionalfall-arrester, the fall-arrester or arresters acting on the strap toprevent movement of the strap through the fall-arrester or arresters ineither direction at more than a permitted speed.
 51. Apparatus asclaimed in claim 50, wherein two fall-arrest devices are joinedside-by-side and to a pulley assembly, the strap passing through one ofthe fall-arrest devices, around the pulley and then through the otherfall-arrest device.
 52. Apparatus as claimed in claim 49, wherein knotsat the ends of the said strap attaching it to the respective ascenderassemblies are cravat knots allowing easy adjustment of the length ofstrap between the two handles as well as providing secure fixedattachments when load is applied to the strap.